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Weekly Event Announcements for the City of Alexandria: December 18 – 24, 2010

Saturday, December 18 – Local Author Book Signing for Letters to Virginia
Local Alexandria author Barb Winters will sign copies of her book, Letters to Virginia: Correspondence from Three Generations of Alexandrians Before, During, and After the Civil War. This free event will be held from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. at the Burke Branch Library, 4701 Seminary Rd. For more information, call 703.746.1704.

Sunday, December 19 – Colonial Handbell Ringers – The Lyceum
Join the Colonial Handbell Ringers as they present their festive holiday musical show at The Lyceum, 201 South Washington Street. Get into the holiday spirit as you listen – and sing along – with their performance of holiday classics using a long set of Whitechapel bells. Two free one-hour shows with the first performance at 2 p.m. and then repeated at 4 p.m. For more information, visit www.alexandriahistory.org or call 703.746.4994.

Monday, December 20 and Tuesday, December 21 -- Santa’s Winter Wonderland
Help make a child’s Christmas a merry one. Become part of Santa’s Winter Wonderland, a program hosted by the Alexandria Redevelopment and Housing Authority and the Charles Houston Recreation Center. The Winter Wonderland will provide hundreds of children with a holiday celebration filled with gifts from Santa, music and other festive activities. You can become one of Santa’s helpers by bringing a gift on Monday, December 20, or Tuesday, December 21 to the Charles Houston Recreation Center (901 Wythe St.) from 6 to 9 p.m. Santa and his elves will deliver the gifts on December 22. For more information, contact Sandra Fowler at 703.549.7115, ext. 231, or sfowler@arha.us.

Coming Soon

Friday, December 31 – First Night Alexandria’s New Year’s Eve Bash
Ring in the New Year with 100 live performances – from swing and rock to Russian folk – at 17 indoor venues, plus the Second Annual Fun Hunt, children’s entertainment and games, and a spectacular midnight finale at the George Washington Masonic Memorial featuring lasers, video, music and fireworks. Performances start at 7 p.m. throughout Old Town. Tickets can be purchased online through December 25 and at the Alexandria Visitors Center, located at 221 King Street. Additional ticket locations can be found at www.FirstNightAlexandria.org. Get your discounted ticket for $15 before December 21; $20 after December 21. Children 12 and under are free. For more information, visit www.FirstNightAlexandria.org or call 703.746.3301.

Ongoing

City of Alexandria Farmers’ Markets
The City of Alexandria is host to the Old Town Farmers’ Market and Del Ray Farmers’ Market every Saturday. The markets feature colorful displays of fresh, locally grown, in-season vegetables and fruit, gourmet coffee, fresh squeezed orange juice, meat, bakery items and artisans. For more information, visit www.alexandriava.gov/farmersmarket.

Open through May 1, 2011 – “Patriotic and Public Spirited” Commemorative Wares in George Washington’s HometownAlexandria prides itself on being the hometown of George Washington and Robert E. Lee, and historic events such as George Washington’s Birthnight Ball and Lafayette’s 1824 visit to Alexandria were cause for great celebration. This exhibition of commemorative ceramic wares, recovered from archaeological excavations or preserved in collections, shows the community’s interest in events and historic places of local and national significance. The Lyceum, Alexandria’s History Museum (201 South Washington Street) is open Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday, 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. For more information, visit www.alexandriahistory.org or call 703.746.4994.

Open through May 7, 2011 - Style and Identity: Black Alexandria in the 1970s, Portraits by Horace Day
At the Alexandria Black History Museum, 902 S. Wythe St., view this new exhibition of 32 paintings by Horace Day featuring Alexandria street scenes and portraits of African American Alexandrians. Described as an American scene or regional painter, Day created this body of work at a time when “Black” was becoming “Beautiful,” but when media still promoted stereotypical, demeaning images of African Americans. Day’s portraits reflect the dignity and beauty he saw in his subjects. Museum is open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday. Suggested admission is $2. For more information, visit www.alexblackhistory.org or call 703.746.4356.